When I first started talking about returning to school full time and not working or working cheap part time jobs while doing it, many people, almost everyone, were very supportive. "Yes, that's a great idea, you should do it!"

Now that I actually told the Oregon job that "I'm not going to pursue the job with your group any longer. For personal reasons, I think I need to remain in this area for now," I'm finding a LOT of people saying things like, "what if you can't make it? what if you don't get enough financial aid?" and other such doubting things.

So, it was a great idea until they started to think about it?

My grandmother is the WORST and I know I should NOT listen to her. After all, she's the one that has no money in retirement and waited to retire until she was too old and sick to work anymore.

She's the one that constantly belittles my mother for following her dreams by saying things like, "we all have to work jobs we don't like." (I have issues with the way Mom doesn't control her money, but really not that many issues with her following her dream. She makes decent money, if she'd just learn how to budget for her erratic income.)

It's probably HER (grandmother's) attitude that led to me dropping out of school the last time in order to work to pay the bills.

NO, we DON'T have to spend our lives working at jobs we hate. I don't have to continue on a path that I'm NOT that comfortable with. I don't have to stay "skilled labor" all my life because SHE is scared and doesn't understand.

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